Chapter 4

It was the first time I'd ever seen that expression on his face.

Guilt. Shock. Even disbelief.

Giovanni stared at me in silence.

I kept my head down, letting my tears fall onto the scraps of paper scattered at my feet.

He was probably remembering how, whenever I was wronged in the past, I would turn the whole house upside down. But now, even my crying was silent. I didn't dare make a sound.

Giovanni suddenly let go of my hand as if he'd been burned.

"You knew all along?" his voice rasped. "Why didn't you tell us? You used to care so much about us… Why are you just giving up like this?"

I found it almost laughable. They were the ones who abandoned me first.

To keep Victoria happy after she woke up, they turned a blind eye when Enzo falsified a DNA report to erase my identity.

To them, my dignity and suffering meant nothing compared to a single tear from Victoria. After everything they'd done to me, I wasn't going to beg for their affection anymore. I wanted to leave this godforsaken place and never come back.

Without answering Giovanni, I quietly crouched down, picked up the real DNA report, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it in the trash.

Giovanni went pale, his eyes fixed on the trash can.

Trying to maintain his authority as my older brother, he put on a stern voice. "Franca, what's with this attitude? Are you trying to act cold just to make us feel guilty?"

"Of course not, Giovanni. I've learned my lesson. I know Enzo forged that report so Victoria could recover without worrying. I'm sure she'll accept me eventually. I'll wait." I felt nothing as I said it.

Hearing that, Giovanni's shoulders visibly relaxed.

The tension in the room eased almost instantly. Seeing how "understanding" I was, they no longer felt any guilt.

Papa patted my head approvingly.

Enzo spoke with satisfaction. "Good. You finally understand. You owed Victoria this much. Once she gets over everything, we can all be a family again. For tonight, just stay home and rest. We'll go to dinner without you."

Victoria wiped away her tears and put on a generous smile. "Franca, if you like those earrings so much, I'll give them to you. Just don't take other people's things anymore. If you want something, you can always tell me. I'll let it slide this time."

Then she leaned close to me and whispered, "They're just earrings. Giovanni can get me more whenever I want.

"Take them. Consider them compensation for that worthless piece of paper. That offer letter is junk now. But you get a pair of priceless earrings in exchange. You should be thanking me."

With that, she wore an innocent smile, slipped an arm through Giovanni's and Enzo's, and urged them to head to the harbor restaurant.

Giovanni didn't even glance at me. He gently patted Victoria's hair and said, "Alright, whatever you want. I'll have the pink diamond set I just bought sent to the restaurant. It'll go perfectly with your outfit."

I stood alone in the empty room, completely calm.

I picked up the sapphire earrings from the floor and called a jeweler. Selling them would get me enough money for a one-way ticket to Slento.

With what remained, I could hire a top fixer through the black market to fake my death. They'd stage a car crash, leave behind a body burned beyond recognition to pass as mine, and arrange an official death certificate.

If I was going to walk away, I had to leave no trace behind.

Without looking back, I walked out of the gates of Moretti Manor.

At the harbor restaurant, the Morettis sat around a round table by the window. Under the table, Enzo held Victoria's hand tightly, out of sight of the others.

After dinner, they set off on a luxurious round-the-world cruise that lasted for months. During all that time, no one mentioned my name, as if I had never existed.

Now and then, Giovanni and Enzo would find themselves staring at their phones late at night, as if expecting a message from me. But whenever Victoria called, their attention immediately shifted back to her.

They stubbornly clung to the idea that I was only playing another game to get their attention.

"Leave her alone. Once she's had enough, she'll come crawling back," Giovanni said.

Three months passed before they finally returned to the manor.

Victoria leaned against Papa and asked sweetly, "Papa, have you set the date for Enzo and my engagement party yet? I want Franca to give a speech for me."

Papa frowned. His instincts as the Mafia Don told him that something was off, but he couldn't resist Victoria's pleading.

He sighed and said to Enzo. "Enzo, I'll leave this to you."

Victoria's face lit up, and Enzo readily agreed. He walked to my bedroom with Giovanni and knocked on the door.

Nothing but silence answered him.

Enzo's expression fell. He glanced at the men behind him, signaling for them to force the door open.

"Franca, I'm giving you an out by letting you attend our engagement party. Come out. Do you really want to be shut out by the Morettis for the rest of your life?"

With a heavy thud, the solid door was kicked off its hinges, but the room was eerily clean. The wardrobe stood open, completely empty.

Enzo froze, his whole body locking up for a moment.

Giovanni frowned, a strange sense of dread creeping over him. He pulled out his phone with trembling hands and called the head of the family's intelligence network.

The man's voice on the other end was tense. "Mr. Moretti, Ms. Franca is gone. We found her death certificate dated last month."